Lieutenant Colonel (The United Federation Marine Corps Book 6) by Jonathan P. Brazee

separatists, only scattered body parts of an unknown number that had been in the bunker the Berserker had taken out.
    Ryck, with the ever-present Çağlar at his side, strode over to where the prisoners were being processed.
    “Where’s their leader?” he asked LCpl Montre, the closest Weapons Company Marine.
    “That guy over there, sir.  The one in the blue shirt,” Montre said, pointing.
    Ryck approached the sitting man, coming to a stop and looming over him.  The young man— really young , Ryck thought—seemed calm and collected, despite his hands being zip-tied behind him and two PICS almost on top of him.  He looked up and waited for Ryck to say something.
    “Are you the leader of this group?” Ryck asked.
    “Yesah, you can say that,” he said with an odd inflection to his voice  “An’ who you?”
    “I’m Lieutenant Colonel Ryck Lysander, the commanding officer.”
    If Ryck expected any reaction from the man, he was disappointed. 
    “And your name?” Ryck prompted.
    “You can call me Eagle, Marine-man,” came the reply.
    Ryck didn’t know if that was the man’s name or simply some sort of code name the man had chosen.  It would all come out in the end, so Ryck did not press the issue.
    “I want you to know that you will be treated in compliance with all regulations concerning POWs,” Ryck told him.
    “Yesah, as you choose,” the man said.
    Is he high on something? Ryck wondered.
    “Your men and women will be turned over to your government for disposition—” Ryck started.
    “Not mah government,” Eagle said with the first hint of any emotion.
    “Well, be that as it may.  I just wanted to let you know that if you have any questions or issues, just ask any of the Marines, and someone will respond to it.”
    The man said nothing, and Ryck started to turn away before the question that had been nagging at him broke free.
    “I have to ask, why did you fight?  You had to have known you had no chance,” he asked.
    “The man who sold us the guns, he say they can take anything down.  Ten megajoules of power.”
    “But this is on land, and those Borisovtiches are old tech.  Too much energy gets lost.  You had no chance.”
    “So he lie,” Eagle said complacently.
    Ryck didn’t understand the man.  He’d just gotten his ass kicked, he’d lost men and women, and he’d been sold a false bill of goods.  But he didn’t seem upset or emotional.
    “But when you fired on us and we kept coming, didn’t you know then?” Ryck persisted.
    “Yesah, after the first shot, we know.”
    And? he wanted to shout out.
    “So why continue?  You got your people killed, for nothing.”
    “Nothing?  We had to show we serious, like Gandhi and Forsythe.  By dying, we do that.  We won,” Eagle said assuredly. 
    Ryck stared at the man for a moment, and then simply turned around and left.  Humanity was a diverse organism, and people were all different. Sometimes, the differences were enormous.  Ryck just didn’t understand this Eagle guy, and he didn’t think he could bridge the gap.  To throw away lives for a simple message was something he could not fathom.
    Ryck was still going to follow all regulations concerning prisoners before turning them over to the police force, but after that, he was washing his hands of them.  He had his own Marines to worry about, and that was enough.

TARAWA
     
    Chapter 8
     
    “Not a bad show,” the XO said.
    “ Braço às armas feit , Liam.  As arms to weapons,” Ryck responded.
    Ryck was actually slightly underwhelmed—and disappointed.  This was his first patron birthday with the battalion, and he’d hoped it would knock everyone’s socks off.  It didn’t.
    The battalion commander traditionally had nothing to do with the preparations, and so this was the first time he’d seen everything unfold.  He’d been at the head table with the deputy prime minister from Portugal, the new regimental commander, and the commanding general, and he could